Wawasee boys tennis coach Roger Brady is trying to build a winning program.
He saw the blueprints of a pretty good program Tuesday afternoon as his Warriors fell 5-0 to Northern Lakes Conference rival Warsaw."We're still in the process of building a team," said Brady, whose Warriors fell to 1-10 on the season and 0-5 in NLC play. "We're trying to build a winning program. Wawasee didn't win a match for three straight seasons, there were different coaches, and now we're in the process of teaching them how to win."
After three straight seasons with an 0-fer record, the Warriors beat Central Noble earlier this season.
Competing with the talented Tigers, a program that has won the sectional championship five of the past six seasons and the regional chamionship in four of the past five seasons, proved too daunting of a task for the Warriors Tuesday.
"We don't have the skills right now as a tennis team," said Brady. "We need to work on our mental approach to the game. The kids are working hard, it's just that they've had different coaches and we need to get the summer program going and teach them how to win."
The host Tigers certainly knew how to win, as they won three of the five matches Tuesday by 6-0, 6-0 scores and another by a 6-0, 6-2 count.
"We were the prohibitive favorites tonight," said Warsaw coach Rick Orban, whose team improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the NLC. "I told the kids we had to stay focused, you just never know what might happen. Roger is building a program there, it takes time. He's got great kids. None of their kids gave. Nobody quit."
On a night Warsaw honored its seniors and Orban changed his lineup a bit, the Tigers looked like a veteran team.
At No. 1 singles, Warsaw's Deon Shafer picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win over Nathan Brady in 35 minutes.
At No. 2 singles, Bryce Scott scored a 6-0, 6-0 Warsaw victory over Ryan Smith.
In the No. 1 doubles match, Warsaw's Will Coen and Collin Bishopp defeated Chris Brill and Hayden Shock 6-0, 6-2.
In the No. 2 doubles match, the Tigers' Ethan Guy and Richard Feng earned a 6-0, 6-0 win over Garly Windle and Jeff Miller.
The closest match of the evening, which was still over in less than an hour and a half, took place at No. 3 singles, where Warsaw's Andrew Cutshall beat Weston Becker 7-5, 6-3.
"Andrew was a little nervous, it was his first time at No. 3 singles," said Orban. "He usually plays doubles, but we switched things up a little bit tonight. It was good for him to get used to playing someone like that."
Warsaw won the junior varsity match by an 8-0 score.
"When you face a Warsaw, or a Northridge or a Plymouth, you know they're going to be good year after year," said Brady. "You know that you're facing one of the better teams in the conference. Wawasee used to be one of the better teams in the conference, that's where we're trying to get back to."
Wawasee is in action again Thursday when it hosts NLC foe Elkhart Memorial.
The Tigers are back at it today when they host state-ranked conference rival Plymouth.
